The Rat is the Cat's Enemy
by thepineandthestar
Summary: You know Alix, same old Alix, putting us on a dare. On a 'stay at a haunted mansion for the weekend' dare. But the mansion turned out to be awesome so who loses? Definitely not us! But the house is truly haunted and oH MY GOSH GUYS DID YOU SEE WHAT WAS FOLLOWING US? Tune in to Alya Césaire for more info. For now, we're just gonna run for our lives. (HALLOWEEN FIC)
1. First Night

"I honestly thought the dare days are over," Marinette told her three other companions, "I was so wrong."

"You're darn right." Alya replied, loading her bag to the trunk of their friend's car, "It's kinda stupid but, you know Kim, he'd do anything so he'd win."

"You know what I don't get about all of this?" Nino spoke, "It's the fact that Adrien, of all people, is joining us."

"What?" Adrien raised a brow, "Can't I join a dare?"

"No, it's not that. It's just, you can go on with your life because you most definitely won't need the money we'd win for university." Nino pointed out

Adrien shrugged, "Maybe I wanted to join the dare."

"Or, or," Alya interrupted, "our little blonde boy here wants to spend time with our equally little girl. Lighten up, Nino, let your children play."

Marinette looked up at her three other friends then sighed, "Please tell me that I not spending a weekend with you guys in a supposed-to-be haunted house."

"You can't hide it, Mari." Alya slung her arm around her friend's shoulders, "You love us. Now let's go! It's gonna get dark and I really want to be in that haunted house soon. It'll be awesome for my blog."

"I knew it," Marinette spoke up, "you forced Alix to make the dare so you could have someone to join you for a Halloween blog post."

"What can I say? Halloween is a really big thing on blogs and I want to win that darned 'Best Halloween experience' for once." Alya replied

"All of the stuff are loaded, we're good to go." Adrien announced

"I call shotgun!" Marinette called

"Ooh, wanting to be with Adrien the whole time, I see." Alya wiggled her eyebrows

"No, I meant the shotgun that'll get you in trouble if you _don't_ win that award." Marinette whispered back then proceeded to enter the car

The three other teens rode the car and, once everything had been rechecked by Adrien, went off to the house they were supposed to stay in.

They had been informed, by Max, that the house had a housekeeper so they wouldn't actually be alone. It was like a hotel, only it was free and people often stayed there to finish dares. Like the four teenagers we knew.

"Legend has it that the owner of the mansion got killed inside the house," Alya spoke as she read what was written on her phone, "and the family of the owner left immediately when they found the dead body of the owner at the backyard."

"So why is there a housekeeper? Shouldn't he or she be not allowed to stay in the house if it really _is_ haunted?" Adrien inquired

"Nah, she doesn't actually stay indoors. Max told me that she stays at a nearby house and she works at the house when it's day." Nino replied

"Why are we getting so worked up about this? I mean, it's not really haunted, right?" Marinette asked

"Uh," Adrien started, "she didn't tell you?"

"Look, it's not a serious thing. I found it from Creepypasta, pretty sure that it's purely fiction." Alya defended

"Yeah, I side with Mari here. All of this is just fake. And if the so-called legend is true, then why are people still allowed to enter?" Nino shrugged, "Probably just some people trying to make the haunted house an attraction."

"Hopefully," Alya murmured, "but I'd really like to experience some ghost hunting, you know? Before we all go of to uni."

"Ghosts, pretty much no. But maybe there'll be creepy people in the town that we can investigate like a criminal reporter." Marinette grinned at her friend

"Yeah like when we were younger!" Alya exclaimed, getting excited with the idea, "Remember when we stalked them an-."

"Wait, wait, stalked _who_ exactly?" Nino raised a brow

Marinette and Alya shared a giggle.

"No one you should know of." Marinette supplied

Adrien looked at the rear view to share a glance with his friend, "I'm pretty darn sure I know _who_."

Marinette grabbed Adrien's chin and pulled it down, training it in front of him, "Eyes on the road, Adrien."

"Sorry, sorry," the boy muttered

Marinette set up a playlist consisting of _The Greatest, Vivre Ou Ne Pas Vivre, This Town,_ and many more. She watched as the road slowly become new and foreign to her. They were only travelling to Versailles but she hadn't travelled that way before. She also went to Versailles when she was little but she never saw or heard of the haunted house Alix wanted them to go to.

They had been travelling for two hours and the sun was slowly setting, the lampposts being lit up. Marinette fell in love with the road they were travelling and with the demeanor they were in. It was fun to have an out-of-town weekend with her best friend, her best friend's boyfriend, and her crush who was still as oblivious as ever after four years. It was satisfying that she had a chance to bond with them after the struggles and pain university was giving them.

She could see Alya and Nino snoozing at the backseat, curled up with each other so she changed the music to something softer as to not disturb the sleep of the two occupants of the backseat.

"You trying to get me to sleep, Mari?" Adrien asked with a chuckle

"Oops, sorry." She replied then changed it back to the former song, only lowering the volume

"You can sleep too if you want, I feel like this is a _really_ long drive," Adrien told her

"It's fine, I'll stay up with you." She smiled at him

Thank goodness she knew how to control stuttering and inner fangirling or that sweet gesture would've made her into a sputtering, blushing mess.

"Suit yourself," Adrien replied, "so how's taking up fashion doing for you?"

Oh right, that. They, all four of them, haven't really talked about their studies much seeing as the first time they saw each other since summer break was this roadtrip.

"It's stressful but I think I can manage," she answered, "just gotta learn how to balance time between studying and working." _And, you know, patrolling around Paris at night because I'm Ladybug._

But she couldn't say that.

"Man I wish I knew how that felt," Adrien said

"Trust me, Adrien, you don't." Marinette shook her head, "I honestly hate my boss right now. I wish I thought of it before I took them for my internship."

"You know, my father's offers are still up." He eyed her, "Just getting that out there."

"I'm really thankful but your family's given me enough," she replied, remembering the scholarship Gabriel gave her which covered half of her annual tuition, "I think it's too much if I accept the internship."

"No it's totally not. Father's fine with it. Actually, he wantsyou for the company, something about fresh and raw talent." Adrien said

"That's… actually really kind of him." Marinette smiled a bit more

Adrien let out a short laugh, "I know right? I thought it was physically impossible for him to be kind."

"True, but you have to give him some credit somehow." She grinned, "Well how about you? Still modelling or?"

"Still modelling. It's now officially a job which I am very happy with. Not, not that I'm happy with modelling, I'm just really happy that the money could pay rent and send me to college," Adrien answered

"Well you surely make people happy with your modelling," Marinette blurted out without thinking

Adrien curved the car for a second before putting it on its proper lane then stopping at the side of the road, earning honks from the drivers behind him.

Marinette's eyes widened once she registered what she said.

 _Did, did I just-,_

If they were fourteen, then there would absolutely be no reason for both of them to be flustered on the topic. But they weren't. They were both nearing twenty and Adrien didn't model the same clothes as he once did. Now it was different.

Now, Adrien modelled underwear.

"I-I mean, no, I didn't mean that. What I meant to say was, it makes people really happy to see you like that and-, no! Not see you like _that_ like that! It's not bad. Not that you don't look good, or anything, you actually look great like that, no, wait, I meant-." She snapped her mouth shut, turning to the window then continued in a small voice, "I'm just gonna shut up now."

Adrien let out a chuckle. Not the I'm-laughing-at-you-on-purpose chuckle, the Adrien chuckle, the chuckle that made her fall for him, the I-tried-so-hard-not-to-laugh-I'm-sorry chuckle.

"I'm really really sorry about that," she whispered then sat straight again, trying to keep eye contact with him even if an image of the first photograph of Adrien in an underwear flashed before her eyes

"It's fine, really," he told her, "I get that a lot." then sent her a wink before driving

 _Now_ Marinette was more flustered than ever. Adrien Agreste just winked at her after they talked about him wearing only underwear in a shoot and after she told him that she liked it. Her heart was going crazy and her face was as red as her Ladybug suit. She just wanted this drive to be over.

The road was terribly long and when Alya and Nino woke up, which was a good fifty minutes of awkward silence for Marinette, there was still more than half an hour of drive to go.

"You know what, guys? I think we should pull over," Nino suggested, "You hungry, bro?"

"Starving." Adrien groaned

"You, babe?" He turned to the girl sitting next to him

Alya nodded, "I could use some food that isn't junk food."

"Great, then we're pulling over." Adrien announced

Five minutes passed and Adrien parked at a roadside diner, and once the car stopped moving, Marinette took a dash inside, almost tripping on the process.

"Hm, I guess she was really hungry." Alya stated

Adrien let out an amused sigh then they followed Marinette inside. The girl sat inside, waiting for them. She eyed Alya then patted the seat next to her. The other girl, not seeing her signals, sat in front of her, then Nino slid in next to Alya and that left Marinette to sit next to the boy she told that he looked good in an underwear.

"I promise, Mari, it's fine," Adrien assured her, reading her thoughts somehow, "I've heard things that are really disturbing. Yours was merely a compliment."

Right. Right, he was cool with it, she should be too. Right. She was cool with it.

•••

Not.

"Alya I screwed up! I told him that he looked good!" Marinette paced around the comfort room, "In his _underwear_!"

"Yeah, so? He really does look good in his underwear," Alya pointed out, "he's a model, he's used to it. At least you don't go yelling around him to father your child."

Marinette looked at her like she was crazy.

"What? I've heard that a _lot_ of times being yelled at celebrities." Alya shrugged, "Now come on, we're going. It's getting awfully late and we're still a few kilometers away."

The red head dragged her friend out of the comfort room and to the car. Nino had taken over driving and Alya to the passenger's seat and that left awkward Marinette and nonchalant Adrien to the backseat.

It went fairly well. Until it started pouring. Nino groaned then turned the windshield wipers on.

"Honestly? How are we going to get everything out of the car if we have just two umbrellas?" Nino asked, mostly himself, as he entered the lot that the haunted house was in

The road was slightly bumpy not having been cemented and all. The four almost adults looked in front of them as the haunted house went into full view.

"It's more mansion than a house." Marinette said, mouth open at the sight of the grand mansion in front of them

It couldn't be less than three stories tall. The mansion itself was tall and wide and looked like it was constructed back from the Renaissance period. It was the kind of an old mansion that still looked as good as ever today. It was dimly lit by all of the candles inside, with the lack of wires, Adrien told them all about the lack of electricity inside.

"Great, how am I going to blog about it?" Alya asked, dismayed

"Well you can still do after the trip," Marinette suggested

"Okay guys, I don't know about you but I think I saw something move over there." Nino pointed to the left which wasn't very much illuminated by the car's headlights

Nino almost jumped when he saw that he wasn't just seeing things, that something was actually moving in the dark.

"Babe, I think it's best if we drive," Alya said softly, trying to calm herself down

But before Nino could step on the pedal to make them go forward, the creature in the dark ran up to them, banging loudly against the window near the driver's seat. All four yelled and Adrien and Marinette scooted quickly to the far end of the car from the creature. The creature continued knocking and knocking. Alya, with every ounce of panic in her system, scavenged for the flashlight which was in her bag.

She grinned triumphantly as she found it and pointed it towards the creature.

Which turned out to be an aging woman.

Nino rolled the window down and the rest calmed.

"What are you four doing here?" The woman asked, concern lacing her voice, "It's night, you trespassers."

"We're not trespassers, ma'am, we're here to stay the night," Nino answered, voice still shaking a bit

The woman groaned then rolled her eyes, "You teenagers and your hobbies. Follow me, I'll open the garage."

Nino nodded and followed where the woman led them. They went towards the side of the mansion and entered a small opening where they saw another parked car.

The four went down the car and stretched a bit.

"Unfortunately, you have to share the mansion with a couple of teenagers," the woman sighed, "but don't go out of your rooms while I'm not here. It's dangerous out there."

"Thank you for the help, ma'am," Alya spoke, "Can I get a picture for my blog?"

"That can wait, I'll take you to your rooms," the woman said

The four went to get their things then locked the car. Adrien made sure that the keys were in his pocket, as well as his other belongings. They all followed the woman as they all entered the mansion.

The door creaked loudly when she pushed it open, making the group huddle a bit closer to each other. They all looked around the mansion. The room had high ceilings and arches served as the separation from the entrance of one room to another. Candles served as the only source of light in the whole room and it seemed like over a hundred were used to keep it lit as it was. The material used for making the arches and pillars looked like they were more than a century old. But overall, the room looked bare. There was a couch set at the far end of the room with a glass table in front and a gigantic portrait of a man in bright green was placed above the loveseat. The room, although it was supposed to be haunted, looked astounding that even Adrien, who had his own mansion, was amazed.

"It's so beautiful," Nino uttered

"Yeah," Alya whispered, "almost perfect, wouldn't you say, Mari?"

When no reply from the other girl was heard, all three teenagers stopped their wandering eyes and looked at the spot where they last saw their friend in.

"Uh, where is she?" Alya asked

"Mari where are-." Adrien turned left then saw Marinette standing in front of an open door, staring at something inside

He jogged towards her then tapped her shoulder, snapping her out from her stupor.

"What are you looking at?" He asked once she turned to him

She pointed inside the room, "Look for yourself,"

Adrien furrowed his brows then was about to peer inside when their guide swung the door shut.

"Haven't I just told you to be in your rooms at all times?" She snapped

Marinette bit her lip, "I'm sorry."

"It was my fault, I was curious," Adrien stated

The woman huffed then the two went back to their other friends. They were led up the spiral staircase then walked along the carpeted hallways that had marble railings just above Alya's waist. Marinette ran a finger along the marble for a while, pointing out how smooth it was.

They all stopped in front of gigantic double doors and the woman opened it with her key.

"There are four rooms inside. Two at the left, two at the right. There are bathrooms in each bedroom. The other teenagers are in the rooms in front." She gestured to the pair of double doors across them, "If you need to ask anything, ask it now. I won't be staying the night here and once I leave, you cannot go out.

"You have no reasons to leave your quarters. If you're staying for the whole weekend, then you're free to stay. If you want to go wander around the mansion, do it in the morning." The woman finished, "Do I have myself clear?"

The four nodded.

"I'll leave you to it then. Here are the keys." She handed them to Nino

"Why me?" Nino asked

"You look responsible enough," the woman supplied

The three snickered but Nino just shrugged, "I'm not even offended."

The woman left then the teens closed the doors and lounged themselves on the couches around the room.

"High ceilings, chandeliers, fancy couches, can we live here forever?" Nino asked

"Okay, okay, before we all get too comfy, let's decide on rooms," Alya announced, "I suggest having one room each."

"No!" Marinette and Adrien exclaimed, catching the couple's attention

"Well then, I'm gonna bunk with Nino," Alya replied

"No!" Both Marinette and Adrien repeated

"Fine then, Marinette and I there." Alya pointed at the rooms to the right, "And you boys there." She pointed at the opposite, "Let's get settled in for now."

Finally, everyone agreed and Marinette and Alya were first to their rooms.

"You know, bro, I'm kinda feeling dangerous. I want to have a room to myself so when a ghost or something appears, no one will distract me from it," Nino stated

"Says the guy who screamed louder than Marinette earlier," Adrien said then noticed that absolutely nothing would change Nino's mind, "Fine."

"Great, see you in a few." He entered a room without giving Adrien anymore choices

Adrien sighed then walked to the remaining room, "I'll be fine. It's not actually haunted."

As if on cue, thunder decided to drop by. The blond jumped a bit then ran a hand through his hair, "Okay, here we go."

He opened the door and saw the pitch dark room. He bit his lip and braved the darkness. He opened his phone and used the flashlight, finding candles and lighting them. Once it was bright enough, Adrien placed his duffel bag on the bed and unzipped it, pulling out a pair of pajamas and undressing himself. He changed out of his slightly wet clothes and dressed himself in comfortable clothing.

Another thunder sounded and he tried his best to calm himself down by breathing.

•••

Marinette and Alya laughed as they talked about random things, not minding the whole 'this is supposed to be a haunted house' bit.

"You know what, I bet Nino wanted a room to himself," Alya said, "I think he wants to prove that he's not a scaredy cat."

"Bet you ten euros he won't last the whole night," Marinette spoke

"I bet you this blue green thing that he won't last two hours," Alya grinned, "Wanna make it easier?"

"And what do you have in mind?" Marinette grinned deviously

•••

"Okay, which one is his room again?" Alya asked

"I dunno." Marinette shrugged

There was a third thunder then the two girls were silenced. They picked the door on the left then knocked on it.

•••

Adrien sighed for the tenth time in the past half hour. He had been spooked out for too many times and, although he'd already let Plagg out, still felt scared. The candles would seem as if they were being blown out even if the windows were closed and the air was still. It was honestly scarier here than in his house.

There was lightning and thunder for the third time and his tremors were not missed by Plagg.

"Look, kid, you have to relax, there aren't any ghosts here or anything," Plagg stated before throwing a small slice of Camembert in his mouth

"I know but it's so-."

 _Knock knock knock_

"What was that?" Adrien asked, looking around the room

"Uh, the door?" Plagg replied

•••

They quickly hid behind the huge grandfather clock. The door didn't open which bummed both out. Alya sighed after waiting for five minutes before she headed to the door once again, raising her fist to knock.

•••

 _Knock knock knock_

"If that was one of them, they wouldn't knock, they'd call me." Adrien was now hiding underneath his blanket, shaking visibly

"Just open the door, trust me, it's bound to be one of them," Plagg said

Adrien frowned then decided that enough was enough. He stood up from the bed and was starting to walk to the door when there was a particularly bright lightning and loud thunder and, at the same time, the candles blew out. The blond jumped to the bed and hid under the covers once again.

•••

"I'm bored," Alya announced, "let's just go back."

"Agreed." Marinette nodded then the two went back to their room

•••

"This is silly," Plagg huffed

He flew to the door and opened it for Adrien, opening it wide.

"See there's," Plagg took a look at the empty space, "no one there."

"Plagg close the door!" Adrien ordered, not wanting to look

•••

"So, tell me, how have you been with Adrien? I mean, Nino and I slept for a good hour or so. What happened then?" Alya asked, her feet swinging in the air as she laid down on her stomach

"Honestly? Nothing." Marinette frowned, sitting on the bed, "It's weird that so much time has passed and I couldn't move on from him. It's silly."

"Well maybe there's a reason." Alya shrugged, "Anybody showing interest in uni?"

"None that I know of." Marinette shook her head

"That was the same when we were in collège," Alya pointed out, "but it turned out that Nath and Nino liked you."

"Yeah but it's not the same," Marinette answered

The candles flickered and the two girls turned their attention to it.

"Uh, I'm pretty sure the windows are closed," Alya spoke, sitting down on the bed

Marinette nodded in agreement. There was another loud thunder and the girls were startled for a bit. A long shot of lightning soon followed, lighting things up then the door opened, revealing a figure cloaked in white.

Both girls screamed loudly and, as per Marinette's instincts, she ran to the figure and kicked it.

"Ow!" The figure groaned as it fell to the ground, "Ow stop!"

The figure removed its cloaked and showed an Adrien on the ground, clutching his knee.

"Oh my gosh, Adrien what were you doing?" Marinette knelt to the ground and, knowing her, went to tend to Adrien's damages immediately, "I am so sorry, why were you even doing that?"

"I didn't want to see anything in the dark!" Adrien exclaimed, "Can I stay with you? Nino doesn't want to share."

"Why?" Marinette furrowed her brows

"Because," he replied

"Because what?"

"Just because,"

"Come on, Adrien, admit that you're a scaredy cat." Alya teased

"Alya," Marinette spoke on a low voice, "come on, Adrien, you can join us."

Adrien grinned gleefully then stood up and ran to the room, almost locking Marinette outside.

"And here I thought that you were injured," Marinette said

"Whoever said that?" Adrien asked, sitting on their bed

"You sure we're gonna fit here?" Alya asked, raising a brow, "I can always get Nino on a bet on who can stay alone the longest."

"Yeah, you go do tha-, wait, nope. Nope. Alya, you are not leaving this room." Marinette told her friend

"Well too bad, here I go. I'm taking the room next door." She said as she left the room

Marinette sighed. Was she really that desperate to give Marinette some alone time with Adrien? And in a bedroom too?

"Sorry you had to share the room with me tonight, Mari." Adrien said, rubbing his nape awkwardly

"No it's fine, really." Marinette assured, "It's not a big deal. I don't want to be alone anyway."

"Good, good, because I could really use a roommate right now." Adrien sighed, completely satisfied

It was going to be a good night right? Just her and Adrien. Alone. In a room. Sharing just one bed. And one blanket. And it was getting cold so they'd probably be trying to find body heat soon. Great.

Marinette was dead.


	2. First Day

Marinette thought she'd never sleep but almost after she turned her back towards Adrien, and he did the same, she instantly fell asleep, feeling the fatigue of travelling for a good few hours.

The following morning, she woke up to find herself facing the other direction. She felt something over her waist and legs and her hands, which were in front on her chest, were on something smooth and hard, not as hard as the marble the night before, just as hard as the human… body.

She was afraid to open her eyes, honestly, but she had to. She slowly opened her eyes and was given the front show to the chest and abs show. She winced a bit but calmed herself, not wanting to wake Adrien in this very awkward position.

But what made it more awkward was the fact that Adrien Agreste, the blond Adonis that she was sharing the bed with, was shirtless.

 _What happened last night?_

Marinette tried her best to recall what happened last night. The lower part of his body was under the blanket and, if what she thought happened was true, then shouldn't she be shirtless too? But what would confirm it would be the fact that he didn't wear underwear. She was a little bit scared to look honestly but she had to.

She slowly lifted the white blanket and she didn't know if she was relieved or disappointed to see him clothed. Adrien stretched then his eyes slowly opened, making the not supposed to be awkward situation actually awkward. Curse her and her curiosity. Adrien had caught her red handed that she was _peeking_ and his lower regions.

 _Darn my luck!_

"Morning, Mari," he greeted, seeming that he didn't mind

"Morning." Marinette grumbled then sat down, his back facing him again, "Care to uh, explain why you're," she gestured to his upper body, "shirtless?"

Adrien looked down, "Oh that, sorry. It got too hot last night. I'm used to having my aircon on."

"It's fine," Marinette replied, "Could you, um,"

"Oh!" Adrien exclaimed, knowing what Marinette was going to say

He got up and went to pick his shirt up from the table nearby. He got dressed and told Marinette that he was at least formal to look at.

They headed downstairs with to have a bit of breakfast, knowing that their other friends were there, already eating.

"Wonder what's keeping them so-, oh they're here," Alya spoke, "Morning, you two, had a good night's sleep?"

"Mhm." Marinette nodded although she knew the hidden meaning behind her friend's words

"So, these are Jason, Emil, and Kristine." Alya introduced the three people with them on the table

Marinette and Adrien sat on the seats opposite Alya and Nino and smiled at the other people at the table.

"Hi I'm Adrien and this is Marinette," Adrien introduced, "so, what sent you three here?"

"Same as all of you, dared and forced and then the next thing you know, you're here," Emil, a gray haired guy, not older than twenty spoke, hazel eyes screaming his friendliness

"I'm here to blog, but you know." Alya shrugged

The chatter continued around, asking questions about where their universities were, where they actually resided, things about themselves and last night but two girls were quiet and these two girls were Kristine and Marinette.

The beach blonde woman stared at Adrien as he spoke and ate, watching his actions and Marinette watched the girl. Kristine had, more than once, seen Marinette glaring at her but this was disregarded.

"Have I seen you somewhere?" Kristine asked, breaking the talks

Everyone turned to her and Adrien found out that she was talking to him.

"Who, me?" Adrien pointed at his face

"Yeah, you look familiar." Kristine nodded, "I'm Kristine, by the way." She offered her hand and Adrien shook it

"The nerve." Marinette whisper-growled, rolling her eyes and catching the attention of her two other friends

"I really think that I saw you somewhere I just can't place it." Kristine added

Marinette almost groaned at the tone of the other girl's voice. It was flirty and she was flirting with Marinette's Adrien.

Kristine snapped her fingers, face lighting up with recognition, "I've got it! You're in those billboards!"

"Exactly." Adrien nodded, "Most of the time, people don't recall who I am."

Marinette felt straight up offended. _She_ didn't recognize him until Alya pointed it out for her.

"So, with a face like that, I'm pretty sure you're taken,"

Marinette was seething, _Oh she did not just go there._

"No, I'm not. I'm kinda reserving myself for someone." Adrien blushed lightly

"Bummer," Kristine replied, "I would've made every girl in Orléans jealous."

That was the last straw for Marinette. She dropped her spoon, on purpose or not, turning all heads towards her.

"Oops." She deadpanned before going back upstairs to take a bath

She couldn't bear the tone, she couldn't bear the flirting, she couldn't bear Adrien flirting back. She had to cool off and she had full confidence on her best friend and her best friend's boyfriend to keep her belongings while she was gone.

"What was _her_ problem?" Kristine muttered before going back to her breakfast

•••

The bath did wonders to her. Not only did she forget about that Kristine character, she also had a really good time relaxing. Marinette had lit up some scented candles and filled the tub with water and bubbles. It was a good way to unwind from all the university stress. After all, she had to design a project due on December once she got back from their trip.

She slipped out of her warm bath, despite her not wanting to, after a good half hour. It was enough to keep her sane. She dressed in a simple gray tank top and jean shorts then walked out to the lobby between their rooms. She was taking her time observing everything with all the light coming in the room when she heard sounds coming from Adrien's former room.

It took her attention, Marinette just staring at it as she dried her hair with her towel. She shrugged once there was no sound then followed then continued on looking around.

Then there was that sound again. The sound of angry thumps on the floor, on the table, on the door and the sound of various things falling to the floor. The hair behind her neck stood up and she took a step back with every sound.

"A-Adrien? Alya?" She called but no one was answering, "Nino is that you?"

Marinette backed up too much and bumped to something. She turned around quickly and saw that it was her door. She saw the yellow sticky note and the handwritings that could only be Alya's.

 _Nino and I are out to buy something. Brb immediately. -Alya_

Oh so that was clear now but there was still the issue of the something that sounded so much as a person having a tantrum inside.

 _Okay, Marinette. You're Ladybug, you can do this!_

She instructed herself to open the door on the count of three and readied herself.

"Okay, one, two," she took a deep breath, "thr-."

Then a small black figure passed through the wooden door. Marinette yelled loudly then threw her towel to the figure then found herself on the floor. She threw whatever she could grab-shoes, clothes, her phone, anything.

Then the main double doors opened and revealed a panting Adrien. He saw what was happening then stood in front of Marinette, taking the blow of three of the things she threw.

"Marinette, Mari, it's me." He knelt down and grabbed her wrists

Marinette breathed heavily as she looked at him, tears at the corner of her eyes. She went for a tight hug and buried her face on his chest, hiding her small body using his.

"It's okay, calm down." Adrien soothed her, rubbing her back

He made sure that the door was closed before he let her go, "Are you okay now?"

Her breathing was still uneven and she was more than stressed than before and Adrien could see the terrified expression on her face.

"It's, it's nothing, see?" Adrien went out of the way and showed the space and the black figure

She tightened her grasp on his shirt as she huddled closer to him.

"No, no it's fine, I'll explain," Adrien stated, "It's not a ghost and it's not out to kill you, okay? You're safe, Mari."

"Wh-What is that?" Marinette asked

"A pissed off kwami if you ask me," the figure answered

"It… talks?" Marinette furrowed her brows, slowly sitting properly and away from Adrien, "Wait, _kwami?"_

"I can explain everything as long as you promise that you won't tell anybody," Adrien told her before she would get the wrong idea

"Adrien you're." Marinette's mouth opened wide as she pointed at him

"What did I even tell you about going out of the room, Plagg?" Adrien sighed, "Mari, please don't freak out, please."

"I'm not," Marinette lied

"You totally are but that's not important. The important thing here is that you would understand everything that I'll say," Adrien started, "I wanted to tell you guys way before about this but it seemed that I would put you in danger. I'm," he sighed, "I live a double life as Chat Noir, Mari. I'm Chat Noir and I'm not kidding."

"You… you _actually_ planned to tell us?" Marinette raised a brow

Adrien nodded.

Marinette sighed, _Stupid chaton, we've been keeping our identities for so long and he'll just tell it to the rest and-, wait._

"You're Chat Noir," Marinette uttered

The truth sounded so foreign on her tongue. She couldn't just accept it as that but it was here. Adrien had a kwami named Plagg, and his ring must be his miraculous. Marinette groaned. This was so unfair on her part.

"I-, I wanna be fair with all of this, Adrien," she spoke

 _What am I saying?_

"It's, you didn't mean to reveal yourself and it is really unfair if I know who you and you don't know who I-." She closed her eyes and curled up in a ball, "I need a moment. I just, it has to sink in and all, sorry, I'm not rejecting you or anything."

"Stupid kid, she doesn't need to be told who you are and what I am. She, of all people, has to know what a kwami looks like," Plagg interrupted

"Why?" Adrien raised a brow

"Sorry, Marinette, my Chat Noir's dense. Care to elaborate?" Plagg floated in front of Marinette

"Give me a sec and I will," Marinette replied

"Great! Finally, you two know. You've been dancing around each other. You're actually kind of frustrating for Tikki and I," Plagg stated, "Ladybug and Chat Noir has to have a stronger bond, not the kind you two are having. You always have secrets."

"Wait!" Adrien exclaimed, "You mean to say that _you're_ Ladybug?"

"A little louder please, chaton, I don't think they heard you over Paris." Marinette rolled her eyes

"It really is you." Adrien sat on the floor, astounded, "Wow, all this time, Ladybug was so close to me."

"And apparently all this time." She stared back at him, looking at his eyes, searching for something that told her that she shouldn't have told him that she was Ladybug, "You're disappointed that it's me, aren't you?"

Adrien furrowed his brows, "Seriously, Mari? No I'm not. I'm surprised that I didn't guess who you were before because, you know? We spent so much time together, guess I was a little bit blind."

"Well, I should've tred," Marinette chuckled a bit, "maybe then I knew that it was you."

"Well I guess it's fine this way." He shrugged and smiled a bit

The two stared at each other, a little bit content that _that_ didn't turn out the way they thought it'd be. Marinette was still confused and was still processing the whole thing and Adrien was still a bit insecure because this was Ladybug, the love of his life but they found that it was good. They found that they were okay with this.

"C'mere, chaton." Marinette grinned widely before enveloping him in for a tight hug

Adrien went for the hug asked by his Lady and nuzzled his face on her neck.

"I'm so glad it was you," Marinette whispered

"Me too," Adrien replied

"And so I was like, mister, you'r-."

The two jumped away from each other as the door opened and in came their two other friends.

"I saw that!" Alya exclaimed, "So what's up, lovebugs? Got any exciting news for Nino and I?"

Yes. Both wanted to say but it wasn't exactly what Alya wanted to hear from the two of them so they settled for the lie.

"Nope, I just got a bit scared," Marinette answered

"Uh huh, scared of what?" Alya raised a brow

"Scared of the sounds coming from that room." Marinette pointed at the room Plagg was formerly in

"Not buying it." Nino whispered, shaking his head

"Anyways, Kristine, Jason, and Emil wanted to ask if we all wanted to join them, you know, ghost hunting?" Alya started, "And I said yes so get up, we're going ghost hunting."

•••

 _Alya Césaire posted a blog update_

 _October 23, 2021 - 10:13 am_

 _Good morning, World! Alya Césaire here! For Halloween, a couple of friends and I went to a haunted mansion to finish a dare. We're currently at the Mansion of the Fleurys at Versailles. The place is fantastic and if I were the owner of an aesthetic blog, I'd be fangirling so much._

 _Anyways, we've spent about 12 hours now in the mansion and nothing scary has happened. We've tried pranking a friend last night and it, more ways than one, backfired on us. For the night, I went solo and slept in a room alone without candles. There isn't electricity here so it's kind of a bummer. My friend, Marinette, you know her, had to share with our other friend, Adrien, a room for the night because both were simply scaredy cats. If you'd seen them while they were sleeping, I'm pretty sure you'd fangirl with me. I took a picture, of course, but for privacy, I won't share. (Or would I? ;))_

 _This morning, we met the three other teens who are also on a dare. They're Jason, Emil, and Kristine. I'd love to share the drama during breakfast this morning but you all know Marinette, she'd kill me._

 _For the next few hours, we're going to have a tour around the house and maybe some ghost hunting although I think ghosts wouldn't be out during the day._

 _The closest scary encounter we had was earlier. Marinette claimed that she heard some things falling from Adrien's former room. When we looked, Adrien's things were all around the room but he was more disappointed and tired than afraid. But you know what's more scary? Nino and I found Marinette and Adrien hugging! That's never happened before! Could this be it, Adrienette shippers? Could it be happening?_

 _Stay tuned to my blog for more! Forecast, there's a good chance it'll happen tonight! Hang on tight, guys, we're in for a sweet ride!_

 _xoxo Alya_

Marinette rolled her eyes as she read the post from Alya's phone.

"Adrienette? Seriously?" Marinette raised a brow, "You really blog about us?"

"Hey, you two have a solid fanbase because you are just so indeniablely adorable. Not my fault if you ask me," Alya pointed out

"Chloé is so going to burst when she reads this," Marinette spoke

"Well she's got to be aware of it somehow." Alya chuckled, "You'd tell me when you and Adrien started dating, right?"

"I'd tell you if I was dating even if it's not Adrien," Marinette replied

"Good, good, anyways, you might want to stay away from Kristine. She's a bit-,"

"Flirty?" Marinette completed for her

"Relax, Mari, she's just someone Adrien just met. You're gonna win this, I promise." Alya grinned at her, "Now come on, we have to see this house."

The two friends joined the two guys downstairs at the main lobby where the other three and the old woman from last night were. They walked through the familiar kitchen and main lobby then started going through a narrow hallway. The old woman stopped walking at the end of the hallway, stopping at equally large double doors.

"This is the bedroom of the owner of this mansion. Until today it hasn't been changed or renovated. It's only kept clean," The old woman spoke, "We're going inside but I don't want any of you to touch anything that looks precious."

All seven teens nodded then the old woman opened the door, everyone entering. They all looked around the gigantic room.

"This is like three times our rooms," Nino said, amazed, "and that is combined."

"Whoa, look at this." Marinette said then walked over to the table filled with picture frames

All the photos were faded but one could still see vague figures on it. There was the face of the owner, Marinette assumed, a family picture with what seemed like eight children, portraits of different people and so many more old relics.

Alya, Nino, and Adrien were already by her side, looking at the pictures. Alya and Nino accidentally pushed her to the side and Marinette, being her clumsy self, tripped to the side Adrien was. Each of them expected that he would catch her but she almost fell, thankful for the table that she could grasp on, and Adrien was still not helping her. The couple and Marinette looked at Adrien as he raised a brow and shrugged.

"The woman said not to touch anything precious," he defended himself

"What?" Nino and Marinette asked, a blush growing on the girl's cheeks

"Oh that was awesome." Alya chuckled, "Adrien I never thought you'd be that smooth. That is _so_ going on the next post."

"I'm sorry what?" Adrien asked, finally helping Marinette after he already made his point

"Did you seriously wait for the chance to say that?" Marinette asked in a hushed deadpaned tone

"Definitely, my Lady." He whispered back then sent a wink

The tour continued and they walked out of the room, thankfully, none of them were reckless enough to destroy something inside. They were led to the grand ballroom of the house. All jaws dropped at the sight of the polished floors, high ceilings, huge curtains draping for more than fifteen feet. Adrien felt that his mansion was a mere house.

"We should totally have a Halloween party here," Alya said

"No parties will be thrown," the old woman replied, "the master doesn't like it when his ballroom is used."

"Then why does he have one?" Jason asked

"Because it was normal for all mansions to have ballrooms," the woman answered, "don't _you_ have mansions?"

"Uh, I actually do but we don't have ballrooms," Adrien stated, "and it wouldn't be used either if we did have one."

"Didn't I just tell you to _not_ touch anything?" The old woman asked, seeing Kristine over at the curtains and touching the fabric

"Well sorry," she grumbled, "I thought that only applied in the room."

The old woman sighed then walked out of the room, the teens following. Then, from the far end of the ballroom, a huge vase fell and broke to pieces. All of them looked over at the wrecked decoration, even the woman.

"I told you not to touch anything," the old woman repeated

"But what does me touching the curtains have to do with that?" Kristine rolled her eyss as they all went out and the woman locked it once again

"This tour is over, you've all caused enough… stress. If you want to go around, you can't enter the rooms." The old woman said then left all of them

"What was _that_ all about?" Nino asked

"We might have pissed her off just a tiny bit," Alya answered, "but, you three, we're not resting."

The three, Marinette, Nino, and Adrien, groaned as they followed her back to the main lobby.

"You know what's really freaky in his mansion?" Nino asked

"What?"

"Adrien's not acting himself. Are you two girl sure that _this_ is our Adrien?" Nino raised a brow

"Haha, very funny." Adrien rolled his eyes

"Fine then, who were you talking to last night?" Nino crossed his arms

"Me? I was talking to Marinette and Alya," Adrien answered

"No, before that. You were in the room next to me and you were talking to someone. Last time I checked, we both had no signals last night," Nino said

"What? I didn't hear him talk," Marinette interrupted, "Alya and I may or may not have pranked him a bit last night and he was definitely not talking."

"You're hearing things, bro. Maybe this mansion ishaunted," Adrien pointed out

"Okay, shush you guys," Alya told them

The other three kept their mouths shut as they walked slowly through the halls.

"Did you hear that?" Alya whispered

"Hear what?" Marinette asked in the same tone as Alya's

"I heard a door open," she answered

"Maybe it's those three entering their rooms," Nino suggested

"Physically impossible. If they _did_ enter their rooms, the creeks wouldn't be heard from this far," Alya replied, "I wanted to be a crime reporter, don't mess with my facts."

They all tiptoed through the hall that led to the main ballroom where there were plenty of wooden doors, all locked.

Adrien sighed, "This is,"

"Crazy?"

"Stupid?"

"I was gonna say stalker-ish, but whatever."

All of them exited the hallway and looked around the lobby, the same lobby they all went through last night. Adrien was walking through the doors on the left side of the room when the door behind him swung open, the force of the opening echoing through the whole rooms.

"This has just become actually scary." Adrien stated, walking away from the door

The three other teens walked over to him, pushing him tp get closer all the while. They all peered around the door and stopped when they were about to enter.

"Not to sound like a major buzzkill but I really think we shouldn't be entering that," Marinette spoke up

"Then you two stay and guard while Nino and I go check." Alya replied, pulling her phone out to record the event

"Okay, this is Alya Césaire and I'm so glad I could take a video of this moment. It's about two in the afternoon and we finished our tour a little bit early because of reasons. Now, we were at the lobby and while we were looking for open doors, a door just opened." She paused for emphasis

"The thing is, they're all locked and now one just opened. Nino and I are gonna look around the room and Mari and Adrien are gonna stay on guard because they are _totally_ not scared." Alya chuckled a bit, "You guys ready?"

"Kinda?" Nino asked

"Okay, good luck you two out there and remember, don't leave us behind," Alya reminded

Marinette and Adrien nodded, content of the situation they were in. As Alya entered, all doors in the whole lobby swung open in the same manner that it did on the first one. They all turned around and saw the doors. Alya took a video of it.

"Okay this is so creepy but all of the doors just opened. I swear I was checking them all and they were _locked."_ Alya spoke to her phone

All their heartbeats were erratic and sweat was running through their backs. Marinette and Adrien had never thought that they, Paris' bravest heroes, would be scared of a simple haunted house. Well this was an _actual_ haunted house and both wanted to just run away and never come back.

"Who's staying on guard again?" Alya smirked

"No one," Marinette replied, "we're coming with you."

They all entered the room, everyone silent. The only sounds heard were their footsteps and slightly uneven breathing. Alya's phone had it's flashlight on to keep her on recording what was inside the room.

"So there's like, a tea room? Does it look like a tea room to you guys?" Alya asked

"I mean, there are fancy chairs and, oh cool look at that table. Then, you know, chandeliers," she spoke, "and that really big curtain. I'm guessing that it's covering a window."

The group walked on quietly inside the room. It looked like any other room in the house, floral patterned wallpapers, tiled floors, cloth covering other furniture, the huge painting of a green rat, faded photographs hung on the-, wait.

The four looked at the painting of a green rat. The color itself was vibrant and it looked nothing like a century old painting. It looked like it was a few weeks old. Of all the paintings in the mansion, it was the only thing that wasn't faded.

Adrien shivered a bit then rubbed his arms, "I don't know about you but I'm feeling major creepy vibes."

"See, everyone, I told you he's not scared," Alya said

"No, Alya, I'm serious. I feel like it's watching me." He furrowed his brows, "You guys don't feel that?"

"I actually do but," Marinette said, "but it's like, creepy overall and with the lack of light in the room, maybe it's just the atmosphere."

"Come on, guys, before someone sees us in here." Marinette stated, pushing them all out of the room

"And that has been our first, well, I can't really say that _that_ was our first encounter but the opening doors, 10/10. Stay tuned for more!" Alya grinned then turned her phone off, "See, guys? This house is really haunted and we're gonna win that award."

Once all of them had gotten out, the doors were already closed with no sign of anybody outside.

"I'm starting to think that someone is messing with us," Marinette piped up, "Isn't it too much of a coincidence that we were here and then the doors opened?"

"Well who's pranking us? The rat? Come on, I have to get my powerbank." Alya replied before they all went to their rooms

•••

"So," Marinette started as soon as Adrien had closed the door to their room

"So," he replied, "I'm still, I dunno, processing it."

"Me too because I never would've thought that you, of all people, would be Chat Noir," Marinette said

Adrien sat next to her on the bed, "Is that a bad thing?"

"No it's not. I just saw you as, quiet and shy and most definitely more good looking in white," Marinette answered

"But?" Adrien raised a brow, smirking

"But you were flirty and reckless and kind," Marinette continued, "you were still a gentleman like who you were as Adrien. It, it kind of makes sense now that I know it's you."

"And what about the wearing white part?" Adrien asked

She chuckled then tapped his nose, "Don't push it, Chaton."

"I won't, my Lady." He grinned at her then, for a moment, Marinette just stared at him, "Is there something wrong?"

"Nothing it's just, it's so weird. You sound like Chat but you look like Adrien," she replied

"Well what do you purr-fer, my Lady?" He asked, leaning close to her, "The kitten or the model?"

"Right at this moment?" Marinette questioned

"Mhm."

"Probably none." Marinette replied, pushing him back just a little bit, "Lay low with the flirting, will you? Alya is _desperate_ to see us together."

"But we're not actually together," he responded, "unless you'd want us to."

"I just said lay low, kitty," Marinette repeated, "I'm going out for a while. I kinda don't want to stay here after the incident earlier."

"Me too. I'd rather lose that bet than stay for another night," Adrien agreed, "we should just go. I'll come back for Alya and Nino when they don't want to go yet."

"Oh no, you won't. Alya's too stubborn, even if she's in dangerous situations. If we're going, _they're_ coming with us." Marinette replied

"Then let's start packing up and go before it gets dark. I hate driving at night." Adrien said

"I'll go get them." Marinette stood up and exited their room

"There you are! We've been looking for you and Adrien!" Alya said just as soon as Marinette left her room

"I thought we told you we'd stay in the room," Marinette replied

"Yeah but you two weren't answering so we looked for you. You missed dinner and everything." Alya explained

"Wait, wait, dinner? It's three in the afternoon, Alya," Marinette pointed out

"Uh, more like ten at night," Alya said then showed Marinette her phone with the clock blaring ten twenty-six pm

"Ten? I swear it was just two when we entered the room at the lobby." Marinette furrowed her brows, "Adrien has to know this."

She went back to the room and saw Adrien fixing the rest of his things in the bag.

"Adrien, stop." Marinette said, sitting down on the bed, "There's… something wrong."

"What is it?" Adrien asked, sitting down next to her

"L-Look at the time," she instructed

He did as told and pulled out his phone. He clicked it open then saw the time.

"What? I don't understand. We couldn't have been here for, what, eight hours?" Adrien asked, "There must be some mistake."

"I don't think you finding that rat creepy is just about the ambiance," Marinette blurted out, "I felt Tikki come out of my pocket and go up here. She never leaves me, Adrien, there _is_ something wrong with that painting."

"You think it's an akuma?" Adrien raised a brow

Marinette sighed and buried her face in her palms, "Worse. I think it's worse than an akuma."


	3. Second Night

_Alya Césaire posted a video_

 _October 23, 2021 - 3:16 pm_

 _Alya Césaire posted a blog update_

 _October 23, 2021 - 9:48 pm_

 _So it's been seven hours since we made that video of the room and all of us went back to our rooms._

 _When it was about seven, one of the other people here, his name's Emil, called us all for dinner (pretty sure it's because **somebody** wanted to see our pretty boy)._

 _Well we called Mari and Adrien but they weren't answering. We tried opening the door but it was locked. We tried knocking but there was absolutely no sound inside. At. All._

 _Now, we **did** think what you are definitely thinking right now but there is absolutely no way that they'd do the deed since it was just yesterday when Marinette felt like she humiliated herself by saying that Adrien looked good in his photoshoots. If there is something between them, then she wouldn't be **that** affected by the slip up. And besides, she'd tell me._

 _But I really feel like the Adrienette shippers are having a blast right now but please, don't until we find them. It's a serious situation_

 _xoxo Alya_

Marinette sighed.

"Seriously, Alya?" She yelled so that her friend would hear

"What is it?" Adrien raised a brow then peered over her shoulder to read

Marinette turned her phone off, "Nope. You are not reading it."

Her phone vibrated. She opened it and saw a notification for Alya's blog.

 _Alya Césaire posted a blog update_

 _October 23, 2021 - 10:31 pm_

 ** _UPDATE!_**

 _We found them! Well, more like they found us. They were in their room after all and Mari seemed confused when I told her the time. Maybe she was sleeping and thought that she'd taken a short nap?_

 _So anyways, they didn't look like they were doing that buuuuut someday, guys, someday._

 _We're gonna go ghost hunting for real this time. Maybe I can get some footage of them hugging or maybe I can get some ghost footage. Wish me luck!_

 _xoxo Alya_

Marinette groaned then face palmed, "There is absolutely _nothing_ blocking her way."

•••

Marinette and Adrien went out of their room fifteen minutes after taking it in that they did in fact skipped about eight hours of the day. Once they entered the small living room, they saw three (unwanted if you asked Marinette) visitors. They were all talking to each other, as if Kristine didn't have enough at breakfast.

"Hey, what are you guys still doing up?" Marinette asked, sitting on the empty space next to Alya

"Sleep? Oh please, Mari. We have two nights left in here and we are going to find some major creeps tonight," Alya replied

"I'd rather not," Adrien said

"Same here." Marinette raised her hand, "I mean, what happened earlier was really bad."

"Really now?" Kristine raised a brow, "You know, I was trained by my grandfather to see these spirits and fight with them." She turned to Adrien, "You can come with us, Adrien. It'll be fine, I promise."

"That's it! Listen here, missy!" Marinette pushed Adrien behind and stepped in front of Kristine, "Stop with the flirting because Adrien, this Adrien is _taken,_ okay? Taken, out of the market, already with someone!"

"I didn't mean to be rude or anything but just stop." Marinette gritted her teeth

"Okay, okay, hold your horses, Mari." Adrien stated, pulling the girl back to her seat, and patting her back lightly

"I thought we were going to lay low," he whispered to her

"I'm sorry," she breathed out, "but she's just,"

Adrien chuckled lightly, whispering, "I understand, my Lady. Hey, you're the one who said that I'm taken so it that a yes on the date I haven't asked you out for?"

"Okay, you two aren't the Marinette and Adrien we met," Nino spoke up, trying to break the tension in the room, "care to bring them out?"

Alya chuckled nervously, "Me and my friends are going to have a really quick heart to heart talk, okay? Yeah, thank you."

Alya dragged Marinette and Adrien to their room and Nino followed, knowing his girlfriend, he had to be there to support and stop her if she was going out of the boundary. Alya made Adrien and Marinette sit on the bed while she supressed the squeal she wanted to let out. Nino locked the door and stood beside Alya.

"What is going on between you two?" She asked

"Nothing," Marinette answered

"Absolutely nothing," Adrien supported

"Yeah, well, Adrien Agreste wouldn't flirt with Marinette and Marinette Dupain-Cheng will never, and I mean _never,_ be possessive of Adrien in front of him," Alya explained, "spill. Or I'll tell the Ladyblog that you're Ladybug and Chat Noir."

"What?"

"What?"

"Babe, what? Where did you even get that?" Nino raised a brow

Alya shrugged, "Seemed like it was good for blackmail."

Marinette and Adrien sighed in relief knowing that Alya didn't know that they were the real ones. Their identities were safe.

"So what is it, you guys? We won't get mad if you tell us that you're dating," Alya said

Marinette sighed, "Look, Alya, we,"

"We actually don't know," Adrien interrupted, "there's no label, nothing proving that we're exclusive,"

"So it's just flirting?" Alya raised brow

"Most likely that…? But a bit more than that." Adrien glanced at Marinette who just shrugged, "We don't know yet."

"So why is it that you _sound_ exclusive?" Alya crossed her arms

"Alya, come on. Adrien Agreste, hello? If you've got that kind of guy flirting with you, you _will_ be possessive," Marinette replied then put her hand over Adrien's face, "your ego, Chaton, your ego."

"You two are confusing," Nino said, "how long has this been going on again?"

"Let's see, one, two, three," Adrien pretended to count, "about twelve hours."

"And we didn't know this because?"

"It didn't seem relevant." Marinette shrugged, "But this is the end of it, okay? We'll tell you all about it, someday, when we're not stuck in a haunted mansion surrounded by three other people we barely know and a girl who just seems like she wants something from us."

"Easy there, Princess, you might anger the house." Adrien chuckled lightly, "That's everything, right? We're kind of not in the mood to interrogations anymore."

"It was, it was. I'm just glad that this finally happened." Alya smiled at them, "Good going, you two. Can't wait to have my nieces and nephews soon!"

"I am really sorry for Alya's attitude," Marinette told Adrien

"Hey, it would be fine to say that if I wasn't here." Alya spoke, crossing her arms and smirking playfully

"I'm serious," Marinette continued, teasing her friend even more

"So we've already made it clear that Adrien is Marinette's only," Nino piped up, "can you two just come with us? Knowing Alya, she'll talk to her phone more than to me."

"Fine fine," Adrien answered, "but would you help me with the Kristine incident? The Lady's not liking it."

"Sure." Nino nodded, "I can relate."

"What was that, babe?" Alya raised a brow

"I said I love you, babe," Nino replied

•••

"Have you guys seen that rat portrait?" Alya asked as she and the rest of the teenagers walked through another random hallway

"Oh, yeah, we've seen that," Emil replied, "how did you guys even get inside that room?"

"It was open," Alya replied

"Wait!" Marinette exclaimed, earning six flashlights pointed at her, "Remember the first night we got here? That was what I was looking at."

"I remember that," Adrien added

"It was open from when we got here," Marinette stated, "I think that whatever or whoever's opening that door has been getting us to enter that room and see that."

"You mean the night before? I opened that, my bad." Kristine shrugged

Marinette looked up towards Adrien as if asking him if he believed in her.

"I'm-," he started, "I'm pretty sure that whatever's happening, we should stay away from it. It's not safe."

"Oh come on, you guys. It's probably nothing." Kristine pointed out, "Tell you what, we all split up then find something that is actually worth our time."

"Nope, I'm out," Nino replied, "If I learned something from horror movies, it's that we should never split up."

"Fine then, who else is up to split to groups?" Kristine asked

"I'm up to go back to my room and end this nonsense." Marinette crossed her arms then started to walk away

Alya sighed then followed her friend.

"Mari, if you leave now, no one knows what Kristine can do to Adrien," Alya whispered, "just a warning, girl."

Marinette growled, "I hate that you're right but I trust Adrien and all,"

"Mari please." Alya pouted, "We haven't seen each other much since graduation."

"Fine I'll stay. On one condition," Marinette replied

"Anything!"

"You will not post anything about me and Adrien being this on your blog."

"Marinette do you know how big your fanbase is?"

"Oh well, good night."

"Ugh, fine. No posts about that." Alya grumbled, "It hurts me, you know, knowing the truth and not telling it to people."

Marinette smiled, "Don't worry, Alya. The secrecy won't last long."

•••

"So that was the end of it, everyone." Alya said, panting heavily, "We were definitely not scar-."

 _Crash_

"What was that?" Alya jumped in fright, pulling Nino close and pointing her camera towards the sound

"A sign that we should go?" Nino responded, "I don't know about yoy but I'm leaving first thing tomorrow morning."

The doors slammed shut, making the teens huddle at the center of the room. They were back in the ballroom after being chased by whatever it was chasing them outside. Alya's flashlight could only see a vague figure of something large with red eyes and that was the only glimpse they had. As far as they didn't want to, they found themselves entering the one room that was open.

Wind blew the huge curtains upwards which made the girls squeal in fright. Nino and Adrien had already wrapped their arms around their specific girls, said girls not minding the closeness since this seemed like a life or death situation. Even Marinette, who was being hugged by Adrien, was not freaking out over the fact that he was indeed hugging her. All she wanted now was her safety and the safety of her friends.

"Oh God, we lost them outside," Alya stated

Marinette's eyes opened, scanning the room and seeing only the four of them.

"I thought they were following," She spoke, "what if something happens to them?"

"I'll go looking," Adrien piped up

"No!" All three yelled at him

"Are you crazy, Adrien? There's something out there who was chasing us and we were running for our lives! We are not going to explain to your father how you got hurt," Alya replied

The windows swung open and Marinette felt her inner Ladybug show up. She pulled on Adrien and Nino to the nearest window possible.

"We're leaving. Now." She commanded, hurrying her friends

"Oh?" All of them stopped at the sound, "But the fun's just getting started."

Adrien felt something wrapping his ankles. He looked down, seeing nothing but the dark then felt that he was being pulled. He immediately let go of Marinette then fell to the ground, being pulled away by something.

"Adrien!" Marinette reached out

"Plagg!" He yelled then disappeared to the darkness

"Oh no, Adrien." Alya gasped

"Out. Now." Marinette pushed the two to run towards the window

"Mari, come on." Alya pulled on her friend's arm

A figure of a man jumped from the darkness at the far end of the room. His golden hair and silver staff sticking out from the room's color.

"Chat Noir?" Alya asked, pointing her phone towards the hero

"You should all leave," he commanded, pushing them all out, even Marinette

"Uh, hello! This is a twenty foot drop!" Nino exclaimed, looking out of the window

"The vines. Grab them and go down." Marinette instructed, helping Alya out first

"Even you, Marinette. It's not safe for you in here," Chat said

Marinette rolled her eyes, "I have to find Adrien."

"I'll take care of it," he spoke

Marinette glared at him, "I'm not leaving without him."

"Marinette! Girl, he's the superhero here, he knows better! Come on!" Alya called, halfway through climbing out

She kept glaring at the hero.

"If you so much as get hurt the tiniest bit, you're in trouble." She spoke to him angrily and lowly before climbing down with Alya and Nino

"Okay, now what?" Nino asked

"You guys get the car, I'l go check the back door if it's open," Marinette replied then ran to the left, leaving them no room to disagree

Alya and Nino ran towards the side of the house. They were starting the car when they heard two thumps and felt the shaking of the vehicle. Nino looked out and saw the two other teenagers.

"Emil! Jason! We thought you two were dead!" Nino exclaimed

"Where are the other three you were with?" Emil asked

"Three? We only went here with Marinette and Adrien." Alya replied, unlocking the doors for them

The two entered the car and gave a sigh of relief.

"Wait, wait," Nino started, "if we thought that you went here with Kristine and you thought that we went here with her," he furrowed his brows, "then who was she with in the first place?"

•••

Ladybug jumped in through the same window she climbed out of. She had her fighting stance ready when she landed and instantly saw Chat being thrown to the ground. She ran over to him and helped him up.

"Have you seen it yet?" She asked him

"Yes," he answered, "and it is definitely _not_ an akuma."

•••

 _Alya Césaire posted a blog update_

 _October 24, 2021 - 3:14 am_

 _This is an update to get help. I don't know what's happening anymore. I'll post a video of what happened earlier in a little bit._

 _Okay quick go through of what's happening. Marinette went to find if the back door is open because ? She just ran away and we haven't found her since. Adrien got pulled by something when we were in the ballroom but you know who was there? Chat Noir. Is Chat Noir somehow spying on us or something? I once heard him call Marinette 'Princess' but that was in lycee._

 _This other girl, Kristine, is missing too and is apparently not with the other teens so who was she with? And where is she?_

 _We're gonna find a way to get in and find all them but for now, send help!_

 _Contact Ladybug! Tell her Chat's here! Anything!_

 _With love and a lot of distress, Alya_


	4. Last Day

**I don't know if this'll go up your expectations cause like, when I was writing this, I forgot my plot so yeah.**

 **•••**

 _Alya Césaire posted a blog update_

 _October 24, 2021 - 3:50 am_

 _It's been more than thirty minutes and no sign of either Mari, Adrien, or Kristine. I can hear crashing stuff inside the house and I'm surprised the housekeeper hasn't noticed._

 _Or maybe she did and she's used to these kind of stuff happening? I honestly do not know anymore. I'm just worried for my friends._

 _We're gonna go find them now. Wish us luck and send Ladybug here guys!_

 _Still in distress, Alya_

•••

Alya opened her phone's flashlight, not too intent on recording. She and Nino went back inside, despite it being dangerous, in search for their friends. After all, how were they going to explain to Gabriel Agreste, known for his talent and creepy demeanor, that they left his son at a haunted mansion and took the said boy's car back home?

So, trying to be brave, they went out of the safe zone to be their friends' hero.

"Mari!" Alya called as they took another cautious step, "Marinette where are you?"

No answer, just the crashing and thumping from the ballroom. A loud shriek was heard that made the couple stop in their steps. The shriek continued for a few seconds before it ultimately stopped all noise in the house.

"You think Chat defeated whatever it was?" Alya asked quietly

"Hopefully," Nino replied

•••

Ladybug and Chat Noir were getting tired. True, they had their own fair share of working out for stamina due to akuma attacks, and maybe a little bit of gym time for Adrien, but this one was a difficult villain to defeat. Given that it wasn't an akuma, they were formulating plans as quick as jumping out of the way before they were attacked, leaving little to no actual communication.

"Reveal yourself if you're not a coward!" Ladybug yelled

Chat had long seen whatever it was they were battling but still didn't have the guts and time to tell Ladybug what it was exactly.

"Fine then," it answered

All the curtains fell, revealing what it was they were battling. Ladybug gasped as the faint light from the moon showed it.

"Kristine?" Ladybug took a step back

Ladybug furrowed her brows. What was _she_ doing? And what was she in general?

"Now, now, you must be confused." Kristine grinned, stepping in to the brighter parts of the room, showing her new get up

She wore a black skin tight suit with light green fur covering her forearms and hands, making it look like she had fingerless gloves, as well as her legs to her feet. She had a long, slender tail behind her and, in her hand, a whip matching her rat-like tail.

"Since you're Adrien," she pointed at the blond, "I presume you're Marinette."

"That doesn't matter. Why are you doing this?" Chat asked

"Being an heir of a miraculous isn't easy, am I right?" Kristine chuckled for a bit, "I was looking for someone to keep me company. Emil and Jason are obviously taken, Nino has Alya and she watches him like a hawk," she paused, "then there was you, the perfect candidate but Marinette just had to come and ruin it for me!"

"But then you turned out to be a cat," she spat, "I _hate_ cats."

"It's a good thing the ladybug likes cats, huh, Bugaboo?" He grinned towards Ladybug and winked at her

"There's plenty of time for that later," Ladybug replied, "we have to get rid of this one first."

"Lucky Charm!"

Kristine laughed, "You really think you can defeat me with a lucky charm? Oh please. Your few years of fighting is just a pinch of my centuries' worth of experience."

A bobby pin fell to her hand and she placed it safely at her bangs. She used her yoyo to tie it around Kristine.

"Wow, a bobby pin, very useful," Ladybug stated

The doors swung open, catching the heroes' attention.

"It's Ladybug!" Alya exclaimed, "Did you find our friends, Marinette and Adrien?"

"Kind of busy," Ladybug answered, "Chat, quick. Find her miraculous. It's got to be there somewhere."

"You really think removing my miraculous is the end of it? This miraculous is cursed! This house is cursed and I'm cursed with it! I have no end!"

Chat Noir ran to her, scanning her to find any sort of accessory. He reached her feet then saw an anklet with a glittering green gem. He ripped it off then threw to the ground.

"Cataclysm!" He raised his hand then brought it down to the anklet

It dissolved into nothing but dust, the metal corroding fast then turning into powder. Ladybug let Kristine go then the girl knelt down to her miraculous. She breathed heavily, slowly getting patches of green on her body.

"You'll pay for this!" She growled at the two

"Let's go?" Chat whispered to Ladybug

The girl nodded then exited the room with their other friends, too tired to actually deal with anything more.

"Can I get an interview for the Ladyblog?" Alya asked, feeling slightly giddy and absolutely relieved that her heroes had saved the day once more

"Yeah, go do that. I'm gonna go look for Adrien and Mari," Nino told her

"No!"

"I, I mean, no don't split up," Chat Noir stated

Nino nodded, knowing that he should trust someone who knew better since the last time he didn't do that, a literal something was out to get them.

"How did you guys get here so fast?" Alya asked, "I swear I just posted an update, like, thirty minutes ago."

"We were around town, you know, vacation." Chat shrugged

"Oh cool. So who's taking care of Paris?"

"Actually it doesn't need to be-."

 _Beep. Beep._

"Welp, that's our cue," Chat pointed out, "Sorry to cut it short. See you back in Paris."

Alya nodded then the two heroes ran off.

"So we apparently didn't need the Lucky Charm for a supposedly stronger villain," Ladybug stated

"Yeah that's weird." Chat nodded in agreement before both stopped to look at each other

They ran off back to the lobby, in search of that one specific door. Ladybug used the pin to unlock the door and both entered, still taken aback by the sight of the green rat.

"This must be it," Ladybug stated

They brought it out of the room and placed it where it wasn't carpeted.

"We're sorry we have to destroy a miraculous but this is our only choice." Ladybug knelt down then lit the portrait on fire using one of the candles around

Both smiled at each other with satisfaction.

"Bien joue!"

•••

"Alya! There you are!" Marinette called as they bumped into their friends who were inside the kitchen

"Oh God, Marinette!" Alya ran to her friend and hugged her tight, "Where were you? We searched the whole area and you two weren't there!"

"Come on, no time for reunions, we can do that later. All our stuff are in the trunk and the car's been ready for three hours," Nino said, coaxing them all to start walking

Once outside, Alya and Nino took the passenger's and driver's seat respectively and Marinette and Adrien shared the backseat with Emil and Jason.

"Everybody ready?" Nino asked

After earning collective nods from all of them, Nino drove off and out of the mansion for good, not leaving a word to the caretaker of the mansion. He dropped Emil and Jason off at the bus station and started driving towards Paris.

"Okay, okay, since this is gonna be the last blog post, I'm gonna read it to all of you." Alys spoke

 _Hello once again, world. I am back, I am alive, and we are all alive, yay! Thank you to whoever contacted Ladybug because she was there and she was as awesome as ever. I tried getting an interview but her time was running out, c'est la vie._

 _Anyways, we found Mari and Adrien at, like, six in the morning which was quite unreasonable but I guess it was because of Adrien getting caught by whatever it was._

 _Nino and I went to find Mari and Adrien only to find Ladybug and Chat Noir and whoever it was terrorizing our weekend. It was Kristine after all. She was some sort of a miraculous holder, yelling something about being cursed. Didn't know what that meant but when Chat Noir used his Cataclysm on the girl's miraculous, she slowly rotted, turned to a skeleton, then dissolved to dust._

 _We went back to the bedroom of the master of the house and saw Kristine in one of the faded photographs. It turns out that Kristine is a grandchild of the owner of the house who was given the miraculous. How she lived for more than 500 years is beyond me._

 _So we technically didn't win our dare since it was an agreement that we would stay there from Friday night until Monday morning. Bummer because we don't get ths cash prize but seriously, who needs a cash prize when your life's at stake? Definitely not Adrien._

 _This was life-changing. I learned to never go to a haunted house ever again cause it might actually reallt be haunted but let's focus on what's important now,_

 _When we found Adrien and Marinette, their pinky's were intertwined! Is this it Adrienette shippers? Yes it most definitely is. I'd love to spill the beans but I don't have beans to spill and Adrien's publicist will kill me if I give out any more information than this._

 _Until next time, you guys!_

 _This has been Alya Césaire's Halloween, thank you for joining us._

"Alya, come on, we're not _that_ obvious." Marinette rolled her eyes

Alya took a look at the two. They were sitting so closely together, Adrien's hand on Marinette's lap with both her hands above his hand then his again and her head resting on his shoulder.

"Sure. Whatever you say." Alya chuckled

"So still up for that date I haven't asked you out for?" Adrien asked

"Stop pushing it, alley cat." Marinette grinned at him

The car swerved a bit to the right then Nino parked it at the side of the road.

"Did you just call him 'alley cat'?" Alya asked, the couple in front looking at the couple in the backseat

"No." Marinette shook her head

"You two are hearing things," Adrien supported

Alya half-lidded her eyes then pulled her phone from the dashboard. She replayed a recording where Marinette clearly said 'alley cat'. The designer just chuckled nervously.

"Term of endearment?" She replied

Alya's face turned serious then she looked on ahead at the road when Nino started driving again.

"No. We are going to have a long talk about this, cat boy,"

•••

"Oh my God I lost the Halloween competition!" Alya exclaimed one time when the four were all out together for lunch

"What did you just say?" Marinette asked, still wide eyed

"I lost the competition! I can't believe it! An actual haunting experience and I lost to," she gasped, "I lost to a _meme!"_

"Let's recap, shall we? You made our friends give us a dare, which we lost in the end, we went to a haunted mansion and almost got killed, my boyfriend's secret identity was revealed, we are all probably traumatized by all of what's happened," Marinette took a deep breath, "and you lost to a meme."

Adrien sighed, "Maybe it's not meme-t to be,"

•••

 _A few months later_

 **Alya**

 _Guys I have a brilliant idea_

 _Let's go on vacation somewhere_

 **Marinette**

 _Nope._

 **Adrien**

 _Made plans with the Lady but still, no._

 **Nino**

 _Babe, remember the last time we went somewhere for vacation?_

 _Didn't quite end well, didn't it?_

•••

 _October 28, 2022_

"I have found the last piece, mademoiselle," an old woman spoke as she walked towards a huge painting of a green rat

She turned around then pulled the large piece of cloth draping over something as large. The cloth fell to the ground, revealing a portrait of a serious faced beach blonde woman dressed in Renaissance Era clothing.

The old woman placed a small, glittering fragment on the remaining space at the frame of the portrait. The fragment bonded with the other fragments formed a sparkling green gem. In just a few seconds, the cracks between the gems were closed and the object solidified.

The woman pulled it out and placed it as a pendant for a silver necklace.

"It's Halloween once more, Mademoiselle Kristine, we have visitors."

•••

 **Anyways, since it's done now, I might as well tell you where this started and you're gonna want to read this**

 **www (dooot) scaryforkids (doooot) com (/) story (-) ideas (/)**

 **The Green Rat**

 **At first I was intrigued cause cool, I get to kill characters, nice, this is gonna be horror AND angst but I was like, no, too mean, why can't I be nice for one second? And I did so I created three characters, Emil, Jason, and Kristine.**

 **ORIGINALLY, Kristine was supposed to be Jason's love interest and it was Emil who will try to tear Adrienette apart but while writing the second chapter, I was like, you know what? Screw it, let the girl flirt.**

 **ORIGINALLY ALSO, it was supposed to be an actual rat and the ghost of the owner of the mansion who will terrorize them but it turned out to be more dramatic (?) if it was someone near them all the time (this idea was conceived halfway through writing ch 3)**

 **ORIGINALLY ALSO ALSO, Emil and Jason were supposed to die and Kristine will flee (this was before Kristine as a miraculous holder).**

 **Also, did you know that Emil and Jason are (as stated above by Kristine) taken? Now now, taken by who? By each other. Bam! First homosexual couple I had ever! (I wrote an LGBTQ++ character before for SFIT)**

 **Also, did you know that I was supposed to re write the 'Marinette showing her jealousy' scene? I didn't like it and I didn't like the way she was possessive but I ran out of time and it was also to stroke Adrien's ego.**

 **Now that I've said every fact possible for this story, thank you for sticking with me! This isn't my first finished short novel for ml but it's still feels as rewarding. Till next time!**


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